Explaining the Danger of the Belief in the Unity of Existence

The Shaykh : First: In Islam, there is something called the etiquette of words; that is, a Muslim does not speak words that require interpretation. This is explicitly stated in the authentic Sunnah, such as his saying (peace be upon him): , and in another hadith: . There is no doubt or ambiguity in the mind of any person of reason—and I do not say knowledge—that speech which is not permissible to utter is not permissible to write. Here we have the Glorious Name "Allah," and we have the name "Muhammad" (peace be upon him), which is the most noble of his names. This expression, from the perspective of the Arabic language, suggests a belief that is among the most misguided—if not the most misguided—of all beliefs. It is known as the Unity of Existence. Many of the extremists among the Sufis hold this belief in this age and in ages past.
The Unity of Existence means that there is no Creator and no created being. It means the heresy that the communists hold entirely. As was reported long ago from some of the misguided, it is merely wombs that give birth and earth that swallows; there is no resurrection, no rising, and nothing else. This belief in the Unity of Existence is the most harmful belief that has entered among the Muslims; because everything that leads to misguidance, which is gathered among all peoples and all nations, follows from it. That is, once a person believes in this belief of the Unity of Existence, nothing remains for him called forbidden or lawful, something that is permissible and something that is not permissible, something one is ashamed of and something one is not ashamed of. It is complete dissolution in the absolute sense. This is the belief of the Unity of Existence. "La ilaha illa Allah" is the word of tawhid (the oneness of Allah) for the Muslims, and the command for it came in the Noble Qur'an . This tawhid, according to those who claim the Unity of Existence, is the tawhid of the common people; the masses. As for the tawhid of the special ones, it is not "He" but "It"; the tawhid of the special among the special is "It is It."
It is not permissible for you to say this after reaching this station—and, if Allah wills, no Muslim will reach it—because when you say "La ilaha illa Allah," you have committed shirk (associating partners with Allah). How have you committed shirk? You have affirmed two existences—look at this philosophy—the existence of the God and the existence of Abdullah. There are not two existences, but only one existence. Therefore, the tawhid of the special among the special is "It is It," not "He is It." No, this means negating something and affirming something, like "La ilaha illa Allah."
In the Arabic language, "Allah" is the subject and "Muhammad" is the predicate. It is like if I said: "Allah is Wise." Who is the Wise one? Allah. "Allah is Gentle." Who is the Gentle one? Allah. "Allah is Muhammad." Who is Allah? Muhammad. "Allah is Gentle." Who is the Gentle one? Allah. Who is Muhammad? Allah! This is the Unity of Existence. But we call this verbal disbelief. Why verbal disbelief? Because Allah knows best the intention of the one who wrote this writing! And this writing is widespread in the mosques: "Allah Muhammad, Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman," and so on. Allah knows best about the one who innovated this writing; did he truly intend this belief of the Unity of Existence, which is not more misguided, or is it this ignorance that does not know the consequence of this speech?
In some writings, there is no such verbal problem. "Allah, Exalted is His Majesty," the speech is complete. "Muhammad (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him)," the speech is complete. But "Allah Muhammad" has become a sentence where "Allah" is the subject and "Muhammad" is the predicate.
So this word and this writing fall under violating the etiquette of what? Words; as he (peace be upon him) said in the previous hadith: . If I say to you now: "Allah Muhammad," what do you understand from me? You understand nothing from me except that I—may Allah forbid it—am one of those people who say: there is no Creator and no created being, it is It and only It. And this belief is spread in the books of the extremist Sufis in phrases that make the skin crawl. For example: "When the Magi worshipped the fire, they did not worship except the One, the Subduer!" The fire is not other than Allah, and Allah is not other than the fire, and the worshipping Magi are not other than Allah. This entire existence, including Him, is Allah! This is the Unity of Existence, the most dangerous belief that has existed on the face of the earth. One of them says in some of his books:
"And the dog and the pig are nothing but our God *** And Allah is nothing but a monk in a church"
How do you understand this speech? The Unity of Existence; there is no Creator and no created being. The Messenger (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) rejected what is further from misguidance than such a construction. He once delivered a sermon to the Companions, and one of them stood up to say to him: "What Allah wills and what you will, O Messenger of Allah." Today, if you say this expression, no one cares about it, and no one understands that it contains shirk and misguidance. What is the reason? The people's distance from the Arabic language. Yes, we are Arabs, but just as there are Orientalists—meaning foreigners and strangers from the people of the West who become Orientalists; meaning they learn the language of the East—so too there are Arab Westernizers; meaning they have departed from their Arabness and become like the people of the West who do not know the Arabic language. So we are Arabs, but we do not know the language of the Arabs at all. From that, when the Messenger (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said in that sermon, admonishing them and reminding them of Allah, and of the rulings of Allah, and so on, a man from the attendees, who was an Arab, said: "What Allah wills and what you will, O Messenger of Allah." He said: . Do not say "What Allah wills and what you will"; because "what you will" means you compared the Messenger with Allah. Is this a writing? Yes, we said writing is like speech, and speech is like writing; ; do not write words for which you must apologize to people, do not buy words that require interpretation, no, no, and so on.
This is an observation, and this is part of the duty of mutual advice, which no one has ever done with you before, but what has gathered us in this assembly now is mutual advice in the religion of Allah, as he (peace be upon him) said: . They said: For whom, O Messenger of Allah? He said: . So we are now among the common Muslims giving each other advice, especially since such advice must be broadcast and must fill the ears; because people's homes, their shops, and their gatherings have been filled with this violation, and so on. You find "Allah Muhammad" everywhere.